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| Ladakh is J&K's most ignored region | | CUs, AIIMS, IIM, IIT for Jammu, Kashmir; nothing for Ladakh | | Bharat Bhushan
Early Times Report
JAMMU, May 8: Since 1949 when the sparsely populated Ladakh had expressed reservations and insecurities with regard to transfer of power from Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh to the Kashmir administration, the region continues to suffer at the hands of different state governments.
When central universities were sanctioned for Kashmir and Jammu regions some time back, Ladakh was ignored. Now when Kashmir has grabbed the prestigious AIIMS and IIM and IIT have been handed to Jammu, Ladakh has again faced discrimination.
Kashmir already has the prestigious Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), a prestigious hospital, and hence did not need AIIMS but the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre ignored this aspect while making the announcement in this regard. AIIMS was originally announced for Jammu but BJP too toed the Congress line by backtracking from its commitment in an attempt to appease the Kashmiri leaders.
There is a strong resentment among Jammu people on this account and some local organisations are planning an indefinite strike on the issue. But why so much of discrimination with Ladakh region? It is so surprising to find that no prestigious health or educational institution has so far been sanctioned by the state or central governments for Ladakh.
Though Ladakhis spend their winters in Jammu and majority of their children are studying in schools and colleges here, this does not mean that they don't deserve better health and educational facilities.
Early Times spoke to some of the Ladakhis here and all of them were unhappy with the step-motherly approach of the state and the central governments towards them. Though they had no immediate plans to agitate on the issue, they said its possibility was not ruled out in future.
The Ladakh region consists of a Buddhist-majority Leh district and Shia Muslim-majority Kargil. The widely shared perception among the Ladakhi Buddhists is that they have been treated as a 'colony' by the Kashmiris. It had strong reservations and insecurities with regard to the transfer of power from Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh to a Kashmiri administration under Sheikh Abdullah in 1949. The Ladakhis did not identify themselves with Kashmiris, and were further alienated by the iniquitous power structure and partisan policies of the Abdullah government. The Constituent Assembly (dominated by Sheikh Abdullah's National Conference) had created a unitary state with a clear concentration of powers in the Valley. Sheikh Abdullah painstakingly constructed a 'monolith structure' that emphasised "one organisation (National Conference), one leader (Shiekh Abdullah) and one programme (Naya Kashmir).
What resulted in the name of 'majority rule' was, in fact, 'Kashmiri rule'. In the wake of the Pakistani raiders' attacks in 1947-48, the Muslim refugees in the Valley had received substantial state aid, but no resources were sanctioned for rehabilitating the Buddhist refugees of the Zanskar area, nor was any financial aid granted for reconstructing and restoring the gompas - Buddhist temples -- that were the life and soul of the local religion and culture. The small relief provided by the Government of India was alleged to have never reached Zanskar.
The discrimination with Ladakh continues even today. Jammu has been getting something after agitations and bandhs but Ladakh continues to suffer. Let the Modi-led government at the Centre do justice with Ladakh too and help it getting its share of development. |
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